Shoe stiffener



May 30, 1939. J, IQ GUHMAN 2,160,590

SHOE STIFFENER Filed Sept. 11', v195'! f/As fir T0 ENE w v snort em I John C. Gm University City Mo a'lalgnor Company, Louis,

at. m. a

corporation of Application s ptel le 11, ml, Serial No. 163.339v

5 cums. 036-68) My invention relates to the stiffening of shoes, particularly to the mounting. of toe boxes or counters of Celluloid or the like in shoes. The invention has as its principal object the mounting of such stiflening members in such a way as toprevent the solvent or softener which must beapplied to the stiffening member before mounting it in the shoe from injuring the lustrous surface of the leather. especially the enamel or lacquered surface of patent leather.

The invention consists principally in a multiply. material to be interposed between the upper leather of a shoe and the Celluloid stiife'nen-said material cdmprising'a' layer of gutta-percha or other adhesive disposed next to the upper leath-.

er, and an intermediate layer of rubber, rubber coated or other material impervious to Celluloid solvents and softeners, said rubber adhering firmly to the gutta-percha; and'a layer of fabric or other suitable material adhering firmly to the rubber and adapted to be penetrated by the softened Celluloid and solvent, so that the stiffener and the fabric layer firmly adhere together. The

' invention further consists in the shoe'sti'fl'ener and in' the parts'and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. l is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of a shoe sole and a portion of the upper,

showing toe and counter constructions embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a typical leather tip:

Fig 3 is a similar. view of the multi-ply mate- ,rial, with portions of the upper'and intermediate layers broken away;

Fig. 4 is asimilar view of a typical Celluloid toe stiffener blank; and

P 8. 5 is asectional view ofa toe construction.

In Fig. l is atically illustrated a wellan insole I.

known shoe construction comprising the toe portion of the upper, indicated generally by 2, the heel portion o'f-the upper, indicated generally;by 3, said toeand heel portions being turned under said 'insole'i, an outsole l and a filler-member 5 between the insole and outsole.'

The construction as so far described is not part of my invention. which maybe embodied in other types of shoe constmction.-

The toe construction is shown .as including usual leather upper G, -.patent.leatherjbeing con.- templated, Next to 'the leather toe 5; I is a multl-ply member, indicatedgenerally by for securing a Celluloid stiffener 8 in position and also for protecting the outer surfaceof the patent leather i from the action of the solvent or soften.- er which is applied to the Celluloid member to I soften it for insertion in the toe structure.

Said securing and protecting member includes an outer layer 9 of gutta-percha or other adhesive 5 material suitable for use with leather, an intermediate layer III of rubber, rubber" coated or other material which is impervious tosolvents and softeners for Celluloid and'the like but to which the gutta-perchaor other adhesive firmly 1o adheres and an inner layer ii of fabric or other material that is pervious to softened Celluloids and to Celluloid softeners. Next to the multl-ply member I- may be placed theus'ual'intemediate member 12 of fabric or the like, commonlydesig- 15 nated as the doubler. The doubler I2 alsois" pervious to Celluloid softening materials and adheres firmly to softened Celluloid. Next to the doublet |2,'is the Celluloid .box toe or stiffener member 8 and the usual lining is inside said Celluloidmember.

The heel construction likewisejincludes the upper material 6, (patent leather being contem- .plated), next to which is a layer l3 of the above described multi-ply materlaL'next to that a doubier l4, then'a Celluloid counter iiand finally a suitable lining I0. f 4

In Fig. 5 is shown a toe construction omitting the doubler and placing the Celluloid box toe 8 directly against the inner ply ll of the multi-ply material I. l In building up the toe construction, the adhesive layer '9 of the multi-ply protecting and securing member 1 is secured; against the inner face of the leather. Heat or pressure, or both, may be needed, depending on the type of adhesive used. I'contemplatethe use-of g'uttapercha or other'thermoplastic cement. The doubler 12, if one is used, is placed against the fabric inner ply l l of said material. Any suitable softeller or solvent is applied to the Celluloid bo'x toe member which is then placed against the doubler, or against the fabric ly l I if no doubler is used. The lining is then placed against the Celluloid stiffener. Before the Celluloidhas a chance -to'harden, the shoe is lasted, The softened Celluloid permeates te doublenif one is used, and the innermost la er of the multi-ply protecting material, thus causing the Celluloid -box toe to be firmly secured in place, the box so 'toe, the doublet and said innermost layer, be-

' coming firmly and adhesively secured together by the action of the solvent or softener. Likewise,

-- the lining-firmly adheres to the underside of t e b x 1 -enamel or lacquer'finish layer of patent leather that it might be quite easily scratched or even scraped off the leather entirely. At the same time, the multi-ply member. is firmly secured to the leather by means of-the gutta-percha or other adhesive and it is firmly secured to the Celluloid stiffener by the action of the Celluloid solvent on the innermost layer of the multi-ply member and on the doubler, if one is used.

My invention simplifies the process of mount- .ing Celluloid stiffening members in shoes and itmakes feasible the use of such Celluloid and similar plastic members in patent leather shoes, where their use has not heretofore been practicable because of the great expense resulting from the necessity for repairing damage to the patent leather by the solvent. The several lay-Q ers of the shoe construction are firmly secured together throughout their entire areas.

, Obviously the invention is applicable to other leathers than patent leathers, to shoe construetions of all sorts and to other constructions where it may be desired to embody aCelluloidstiffener in a leather construction, at the same time protecting the leather from the action of the Celluloid solvent or softener.

What I claim is:

1. A materiaLfor securing a member of Celluloid or like plastic to a leather member and protecting the leather from the action of solvents for said plastic, comprising an intermediate layer of material-impervious to solvents for said plastics, an outer or leather engaging layer of adhesive that adheres both to leather and to said intermediate layer and .an innermost layer of material that adheres to said impervious'material and 'is pervious to softened plastic.

2. A material for securing a member'of Cellu- I loid or like plastic to a leather member and protecting the leather from the action of the sol-v vent, comprising an intermediate layer of rubber, an outer or leather engaging layer of guttapercha and an innermost layer of material that adheres to rubber and is pervious to Celluloid treatedwith solvent softener.

3. A leather shoe construction comprising a leather upper, a stiffener ct Celluloid or like plastic therefor and an intermediate member for securing the leather and theCelluloid .stiflener together while protecting the leather from the action of Celluloid solvents, said intermediate member comprising an intermediate layer of rubber, an outermost layer of gutta-percha adhering to said rubber and to said leather and an 1 innermost layer of fabric adhering to said intermediate rubber layer and pervious to said Celluloid treated with solvent.

4. A patent leather shoe construction comprising a patent leather upper, a stiffener of Celluloid or like plastic therefor and an inter- 'mediate member for securing the leather and the Celluloid stiffener together while protecting the leather from the action of plastic solvents, said intermediate member comprising an intermediate layer of rubber impervious to solvents for said plastic, an outermost layer of adhesive adhering both to said impervious material and Celluloid. or like plastic therefor, an intermediate member 'for securing the leather and the Celluloid stiffener together while protecting-the leather from the action of Celluloid solvents,

said intermediate member comprising an inter-- mediate layer of rubber, an outermost layer ofgutta-percha adhering to said rubber and to saidv leather and an innermost layer of fabric adhering to said intermediate rubber layer and pervious to said Celluloid treated with solvent, and a doublerbetween said intermediate 'member and said stiflener.

JOHN C. GUI-DEAN. 

